Gothic Quarter - Barcelona, Spain

Walking through the Gothic district of Barcelona, Spain not far from Las Ramblas is like taking a step back in time. It used to be known as the "Cathedral District" and it's what is left of the Roman and middle ages. The architecture amazing here.

I enjoyed the Gothic area for many reasons. One because it's a great place to cool off in the hot months! Even when it was 89 degrees outside it seemed only 69 degrees. The buildings are so close together at times the sun can get into the streets making it much cooler. It did open up occasionally in common areas.





Another reason we loved it here was the Pablo Picaso museum is located here.  I saw on some websites that they say to skip this museum.  I on the other hand think it's a fascinating museum.  I think Picaso is somewhat of a sick freak and one of the room in particular will verify this, but other than that one room it's great. (Keep this in mind when taking children here. If your a prude American like me, then you will not want your kids seeing that room!)


We enjoyed the off beat feel and the randomness. It's obviously a tourist area, but it did not have a touristy feel.  We saw these little statues on the way to the Picaso Museum outside of a store.

I can't wait to take my kids to Barcelona someday.

How to make Donuts using Biscuits

Did you know that you can turn biscuits into doughnuts? Making biscuit donuts with kids is fun and it's easy enough that they can help make them.

I make simple biscuit donuts. Meaning I took a can of biscuits punched out the middles with a medicine cup to make donuts and doughnut holes. Then I fried them and rolled them in sugar and cinnamon. They kids are able to help with all steps of this except the frying.

Biscuit Donuts
1 or 2 cans of small biscuits
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 cup sugar
vegetable oil

Lay out a piece of wax paper or a cutting board. Spread the biscuits out on the paper. Using a medicine measuring cup as a cookie cutter, cut out the middles of the biscuits. Use the round biscuit dough you just cut out to make donut holes. The biscuits missing the middle will now make perfect donuts.

Mix up the sugar and cinnamon together in a bowl and set aside.

Heat vegetable oil on medium heat in a frying pan/skillet. Once the oil is hot enough place your dough pieces in the oil and fry them until golden brown.

Once golden brown take them out of the oil and roll them in the sugar and cinnamon mixture. When you've coated them they are ready to serve and eat.

Related articles

• Blueberry Cinnamon Roll crumble 

Free or Cheap E-books

Did you know that everyday Kindle offers hundreds of books for free?

Most of the books listed here are free. If they are not free then they are under $3. I actually read all of these books last year and liked them enough to recommend them. I've gotten to where I really enjoy Ebooks. Although they are shorter than books I would normally read, it's nice to be able to finish them quickly with three kids around.
This one is a light read. It's funny and romantic with a happy ending.

This one had a happy ending, but a little too predictable.





 This was a great read.

I wouldn't normally read this kind of book,but it wasn't bad.




UnEnchanted was a good book. It is the first one in what will become a series as they are written. I didn't realize it was for teenagers or I probably would not have downloaded it. It was good enough that I may read the next one when it comes out.